Dreamhost vs Bluehost Web Hosting Services

Bluehost and DreamHost earn top spots on our Best Web Hosting Services of 2022 rating, with Bluehost tying for first place and DreamHost sharing fourth place. Both provide several web hosting services, including WordPress and shared hosting plans. DreamHost stands out for a 100% uptime and 97-day money-back guarantee on shared web hosting when using a credit card. However, Bluehost offers more service plans and add-on features than DreamHost.

The prices between Bluehost and DreamHost are comparable. DreamHost’s shared hosting packages don’t meter site traffic, whereas Bluehost plans support around 15,000 to 400,000 site visits monthly. Both providers have unmetered bandwidth on WordPress hosting subscriptions and offer versions with WooCommerce preinstalled.

DreamHost and Bluehost have shared web hosting, virtual private server (VPS) hosting, WordPress hosting, and dedicated servers. Both provide managed WordPress packages and subscriptions with WooCommerce preinstalled. In addition, WordPress.org recommends DreamHost and Bluehost, along with SiteGround, which tied for the No. 1 spot with Bluehost in our Best Web Hosting Services of 2022 rating.

DreamHost VPS plans include unlimited bandwidth, whereas Bluehost offers 1TB to 3TB, depending on the package. Likewise, DreamHost dedicated hosting services have higher capacity plans with 4GB to 64GB RAM packages, compared to 4GB to 16GB with Bluehost. In addition, DreamHost has cloud computing hosting services, whereas Bluehost no longer offers this option. 

DreamHost and Bluehost offer introductory pricing for new accounts. After the subscription term ends, the monthly cost increases. Both providers use a tiered pricing model, so limits and features increase on more expensive plans.

Here are the basic service plans for DreamHost and Bluehost:

In addition, Bluehost and DreamHost provide managed WordPress and WooCommerce solutions. DreamHost DreamPress plans have WordPress or WooCommerce pre-installed. The promotional rate is $12 per month for the first three months and $19.95 thereafter. Bluehost offers sites with WooCommerce pre-installed starting at $12.95 monthly for the first year and $24.95 per month at renewal. Bluehost managed WordPress hosting starts at $19.95 per month for the length of the initial contract and $29.99 monthly upon renewal.

DreamHost and Bluehost promotional pricing is comparable to others in our Best Web Hosting Services of 2022 rating. The renewal rates for shared hosting ($9.99 for Bluehost and $6.99 for DreamHost, if you pay annually) are lower than SiteGround and A2 Hosting. The web hosting services provide a free domain name for a year with shared hosting subscriptions, and renewal prices depend on the top-level domain (TLD). Both charge $17.99 for ‘.com’ domain renewals.

DreamHost offers lower renewal prices than Bluehost for shared hosting, managed WordPress, and WooCommerce subscriptions. It has a 97-day money-back guarantee on shared web hosting, whereas Bluehost provides 30 days. However, Bluehost may be worth the extra cost if you’re looking for plans with marketing features and free technical support via telephone.

DreamHost and Bluehost support WordPress users with free and paid WordPress migration services and complimentary drag-and-drop website builders. DreamHost uses the site creation wizard WP Builder, whereas Bluehost has its own WordPress site builder. Neither WordPress tool requires coding experience. The site staging feature comes with Bluehost managed WordPress plans and Plus, Choice Plus, and Pro shared hosting packages. In contrast, DreamHost offers one-click staging with DreamPress subscriptions.

Email accounts also come with Bluehost shared hosting plans, while DreamHost’s entry-tier package, Shared Starter, doesn’t have complimentary email. Both offer a free domain name for the first year with certain plans. DreamHost DreamPress Plus and Pro versions include Jetpack Professional with search engine optimization (SEO) tools, whereas Bluehost provides Yoast SEO with website hosting and WordPress plans.

Bluehost provides a few more marketing tools and features on WordPress plans, like built-in call-to-action (CTA) buttons and form fill templates. Additionally, Bluehost and DreamHost have e-commerce plans that integrate with payment gateways. Both providers offer professional services for an additional fee, including SEO and web design services.

Both hosting providers include a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate with service plans, and DreamHost DreamPress versions have the certificate pre-installed. DreamHost provides automated backups with all shared hosting and WordPress plans. Likewise, Bluehost runs courtesy backups daily, weekly, and monthly. DreamHost shared hosting and DreamPress subscriptions have free domain privacy protection, whereas several Bluehost shared and website builder plans don’t.

WordPress versions for DreamHost and Bluehost are automatically updated for WordPress. New Bluehost hosting plans include SiteLock Lite, which detects malware. DreamHost DreamPress Plus and Pro packages have Jetpack Professional, which scans for malware and has one-click backup and restore features. Both providers offer paid add-ons for malware removal. This includes paid SiteLock packages for Bluehost hosting and DreamShield for DreamHost. In addition, DreamHost provides a free web application firewall (WAF). Bluehost users would need a third-party plug-in or paid SiteLock plan to add a firewall.

DreamHost has 24/7 ticket support available through the control panel or an online form, and Bluehost has 24/7 ticket and live chat support. DreamHost says technicians may not respond immediately, and not all issues can be resolved through chat and will require ticket creation.

DreamHost’s standard hosting plans don’t include phone support, but you can request a callback from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) for a one-time fee or pay monthly for up to three calls per month. Unlike DreamHost, Bluehost offers included phone support for all subscriptions. Both services have knowledge bases, and DreamHost also has user forums.

DreamHost offers shared hosting, dedicated hosting, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, and hosting plans with WooCommerce or WordPress pre-installed. The introductory prices for new users are similar to Bluehost’s, but renewal fees may cost less for higher bandwidth and storage. For example, it’s $10.99 a month for the Shared Unlimited plan with a three-year contract. This subscription includes email, unlimited site storage, websites, bandwidth, and site visits. Bluehost’s Plus plan is comparable and costs $4 more per month. It limits storage to 20GB and supports around 50,000 site visits monthly.

Unlike Bluehost, DreamHost offers month-to-month billing for shared hosting, making it an excellent short-term hosting solution. It also provides a 97-day money-back guarantee for credit card payments for shared web hosting, compared to 30 days with Bluehost. DreamHost stands behind its service with a 100% uptime guarantee. If the service is unusable due to an outage or other problem on DreamHost’s end and the customer opens a support ticket, DreamHost will credit the account based on the length of the service interruption and current hosting cost.

When it comes to security, DreamHost has a slight edge over Bluehost. It provides a firewall with web hosting accounts and free domain privacy protection on shared hosting, WordPress hosting, and DreamPress plans. Dedicated hosting plans include DDoS protection, and customers can add DreamShield to detect and remove malware from any domain or subdomain.

Many DreamHost shared, DreamPress, and VPS hosting plans have unlimited bandwidth, which is great for startups and small businesses wanting to avoid unexpected overages. In addition, the WP Builder for WordPress sites offers more than 200 themes, drag and drop functionality, and customizable page templates. However, DreamHost doesn’t provide free technical support over the phone, which can be a dealbreaker for some business owners. Website staging is available with DreamPress packages, but not with shared or WordPress hosting subscriptions.

Bluehost has shared hosting, VPS hosting, WooCommerce hosting, dedicated hosting, and several WordPress hosting solutions. Unlike DreamHost, Bluehost doesn’t offer monthly billing. Instead, Bluehost requires a one or three-year commitment for most hosting subscriptions. The prices are slightly higher than DreamHost but comparable with top solutions in our Best Web Hosting Services of 2022 rating.

For instance, the cheapest Bluehost shared hosting plan is $2.95 per month and $9.99 monthly upon renewal. DreamHost also offers an introductory price of $2.95 for its entry-tier package but charges $3 less per month upon renewal. However, Bluehost’s basic subscription includes free SEO tools and telephone support, whereas Dreamhost’s options are limited.

In addition, the staging environment is available with some shared hosting packages. The website builder tools provide drag and drop functionality so new users can build a website without extensive coding knowledge. Like DreamHost, some Bluehost plans have WooCommerce pre-installed. The e-commerce packages include a one-click install for credit card payment processing and discount code functionality on the entry-tier subscription, giving Bluehost an edge over DreamHost.

Moreover, Bluehost shared hosting plans include online store versions with subscription management, appointment booking, and email campaign tools. Bluehost’s add-on features make the web hosting services a good choice for businesses wanting to simplify vendor management. It offers add-ons like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Constant Contact, security tools, and dedicated IP addresses.

Bluehost lacks security features offered by DreamHost, like a firewall and DDoS protection. Shared and WordPress hosting plans are content delivery network (CDN) enabled, which could improve your site speed. In contrast, DreamHost only provides a CDN with DreamPress Plus and Pro subscriptions.

Together, DreamHost and Bluehost power more than 3.5 million websites and have been in business since 1997 and 2003, respectively. Both provide free WordPress website migration, site builder tools, and e-commerce options. The reasonable pricing and do-it-yourself tools allow business owners to create a website or online store without coding experience.

DreamHost’s 97-day money-back guarantee for certain plans and monthly billing options make it a better choice for short-term hosting needs, or those who can’t afford a year of web hosting fees upfront. It also provides free shared hosting for nonprofits, whereas Bluehost doesn’t offer nonprofit discounts. However, Bluehost partners with more third parties for email marketing, SEO, and collaboration tools, making it a better choice for businesses wanting to bundle several services into one annual bill.

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